


b-world

by lisa6



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Adam Parrish Loves Ronan Lynch, Adam is blown away by his boyfriend, M/M, Ronan Lynch Loves Adam Parrish, Ronan has a zoology degree change my mind, Ronan is an activist, Ronan loves animals, Ronan wants to save animals and the world, i wrote this in half an hour and it shows
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-20
Updated: 2019-08-20
Packaged: 2020-09-19 14:41:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20324656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lisa6/pseuds/lisa6
Summary: In which Ronan dreams up entire worlds to save animals, and Adam loves his boyfriend very much.





	b-world

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this in half an hour because I have no control over myself when I have an idea. You probably notice the lack of time that went into this.

'Your shed?' Adam asked, cocking an eyebrow. This was not what he'd had in mind when Ronan had written to him a few weeks ago, when Adam had still been busy with finals and work, and Ronan had done whatever Ronan did all day when Adam was in Cambridge and without Opal around, who'd spent the past two weeks on a trip to New York with Declan and Matthew. So he had no idea why they were standing in one of Ronan's stuffy sheds, nestled together between hay and pitchforks and wheelbarrows. Cupboards lined the decrepit wooden walls, and Adam frowned when Ronan, rolling his eyes, opened one of them. 

'Have some trust, Parrish,' he said. 

'Trust in what? Your cupboard?'

'No, dumbass. Trust in what's inside the cupboard.'

'Narnia?'

Ronan snorted. 'Am I eight?' He took Adam's hand, squeezing it. 'Close your eyes.'

Adam did. Ronan stepped forward, tugging Adam along with him, and then there was a strange pull somewhere deep in his stomach, below his navel, and both of his ears rushed. And then, suddenly, not even a second later, it was all over. 

Adam opened his eyes at once.

Ronan was still holding his hand, as he had been when they’d stood in the shed, but the familiar stone under his feet had vanished and been replaced by pillowy soil covered by a thin layer of fallen fruit, leaves, branches and seeds. Above them, the canopy of giant trees’ broad crowns and grey mist hid most of the sky from view; only a few rays of sunshine found their way into the forest.

To their right, a massive waterfall issued into a large green-blue river. Every now and then, the glossy scales of a fish idly swimming by glistened underneath the water surface. A group of elephants stood behind downed trees on the riverbank, splashing themselves with water spurting from their trunks. Monkeys were squealing in the distance. Birds of all sizes and colors flattered around and sang along to the sounds of the forest and that of Adam’s rapid heartbeat. Out of the corner of his eye, Adam saw a tiny orange frog jump from one absurdly yellow plant to another.

The air tasted sweet, warm and thick on his tongue. Already his T-shirt clung to his chest and back; a drop of sweat ran down the nape of his neck, slithering down his skin like a snake. A gust of wind brushed through Adam’s hair and rustled the leaves at the top of the canopy, allowing the sun to burst through the endless green for a split second; countless colorful butterflies flew into the air around them.

Adam turned to look at Ronan next to him. He had his head tilted back, watching as the butterflies danced above them. A soft pink tinted his cheeks, accentuating the vibrant icy blue of his eyes and the long lashes.

‘You dreamed this?’ Adam asked, voice weak. It was a nonsensical question — he’d felt the pull of the unmistakably magical forest as soon as Ronan had led him to the secret passageway in the shed, and there was no way a tropical rainforest could, in any other way, be found in Virginia.

Because he knew Adam knew the answer to that question already, Ronan didn’t answer. Adam didn’t blame him; Ronan was busy stroking the back of a passing baby okapi. Above him, a long brown snake was wrapped around a moss-covered branch.

‘Ronan.’

‘Ronan,’ a hyacinth macaw imitated him in its loud, scratchy voice. It fluttered its wide wings when Adam’s glanced at it sitting in a tree near them, tilting its head. Beside him, Ronan made an amused sound.

‘What is this?’ Adam asked, shifting his attention back to Ronan, who had turned away to watch a female orangutan cradle her baby to her chest. It took a while until he got an answer; so long, in fact, that Adam had almost forgotten he’d posed a question at all. It was easy for his mind to become distracted when he was in a place like this, a miracle, a reminder of what a marvelous creature Ronan was.

‘A safe habitat,’ Ronan said at last.

Adam felt breathless. ‘You— you just dreamed up an entire ecosystem?’

Ronan gave a one-shouldered shrug, but Adam noticed the back of his neck reddening. Something tickled the back of his hand, the few soft hairs there brushed by something warm. When Adam looked down, a curious capuchin blinked back up at him.

‘I’m not watching any animals go extinct.’

‘You’re—’ Adam began to say, but was sidetracked by the capuchin climbing up to his shoulder. He didn’t realized he was tensing up until Ronan squeezed his hand.

‘That’s Willy. He’s a pain in the ass but harmless.’

Adam stared at him. ‘You named him? How many animals are there?’

‘Uh.’ Ronan’s eyes followed Willy’s as he turned his alert gaze to the bushes. ‘The forest’s about as big as Africa, I think. Maybe bigger. So, lots. But I messed up and didn’t really pay attention to what animals and plants lived in which rainforests so it’s all mixed up. It works, though. It’s worked it out.’

‘It?’

‘Nature.’

‘Jesus,’ Adam breathed, rubbing his thumb over Ronan’s hand. ‘You’re amazing.’

Ronan grinned at him, all false bravado that Adam could see right through. ‘No need to kiss up to me, Parrish. I’m already blowing you.’

Adam made a noncommittal noise, his attention having shifted to a black jaguar watching them out of the thicket, its eyes glowing yellow. Willy screeched and jumped on to Adam’s shoulder, but Ronan went down on his hunches, holding his right hand out.

‘Please tell me you know what you’re doing,’ Adam mumbled faintly, taking a step back.

Ronan’s smile was thin, but there was arrogance in his eyes when he glanced up at Adam. ‘This is just like Cabeswater, Parrish.’

Adam raised an eyebrow at him.

‘Do you really not feel it?’

Adam shrugged. The jaguar had approached Ronan, its large, round paws silent on the wet leaves on the ground. It was beautiful; strong and elegant, aloof and fierce in a way that reminded him of Ronan. It closed its bright eyes when it rubbed its head against Ronan’s chest, and Adam felt dizzy when Ronan wrapped his arms around the animal’s neck, curling his fingers in its dark fur.

It made a sound that seemed way too pleased for the wild thing it was, and then moved on, slinking away from Ronan and walking to Adam, sniffing him.

Adam closed his eyes, took a deep breath.

When he opened his eyes again, the jaguar had flopped down on the ground, lying on its back and using a fallen branch to scratch the back of its head. Flowers were opening around them; the ones closest to them first, followed by the others farther away, like blindingly bright, colorful dominoes. Animals had raised their heads to look at them, had landed on nearby branches or surfaced from the river, and Adam looked back, unblinking, floored. A warm breeze filtered sighed the air, creeping under his shirt, tousling his hair. Adam’s heartbeat slowed down.

When he looked at Ronan, he was standing next to him, smiling softly. He looked at ease, content, completely at home in this strange world he had created not for himself, but for the animals, and the pink tinting his cheeks made Adam breathless with want, or love, or awe, or maybe all three. It was impossible for him not to feel relaxed when Ronan was like this: just as confident in himself and his abilities as he was in Adam.

‘It knows me?’

‘Apparently your shitty sacrifice was multidimensional,’ Ronan said, but he looked flushed. ‘Congrats.’

‘_God_.’

‘There are others. Not just forests, but— you know. Places. There’s something like Africa, and high seas, and I’m working on— Antarctica, I guess. A version of it, at least.’

‘Ronan.’

‘I know, I know. Just— that zoology degree had to have a use, you know? I can’t— I’m making it safer than Cabeswater ever was and I—’

Adam shook his head. ‘No,’ he interrupted, ‘I don’t— I— I can’t believe you made this. I mean, I can, it’s _you_, but. God. You’re a miracle. You’re such a miracle.’

Ronan’s blush deepened, and so did Adam’s love for him. Just like it seemed to do with every second he spent in Ronan’s presence. ‘I need your help, though.’

Adam considered the jaguar at their feet. It had rolled onto its back and was using a fallen tree branch to scratch the back of its head. Maybe it felt Adam’s eyes on him, because it stilled and blinked up at him. Or maybe Adam was losing his mind, because he felt as though he saw entire lives dance in the depths of the jaguar’s eyes; fire and falling trees, bullets and a dusty earth losing increasing amounts of blue.

A small hiss to his left jolted him out of his thoughts. He turned his head. Two baby jaguars had come out of the undergrowth, following their mother’s path. They paused uncertainly when they saw Adam and Ronan, but, at their mother’s quiet chuff, they trotted closer.

‘Okay,’ Adam said, feeling lightheaded. ‘Anything you need. I just— can you show me? The forest, I mean. Or, well, everything. I wanna see it.’

Ronan averted his gentle gaze from the young jaguars. It stayed gentle when it landed on Adam. ‘Of course.’ He reached out a hand, and Adam didn’t hesitate to slip his fingers through the spaces between Ronan’s.

They left the family of jaguars behind as they chopped their way through the undergrowth, but Willy stayed with them, holding on to Adam’s shoulder. Above them, the sun seemed to find its way through the fat leaves, casting the jungle in a grayish light.

Adam took a deep breath. His lungs felt light. Next to him, Ronan was beautiful and miraculous and kind and Adam loved him fiercely, with every fiber of his being.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! :)


End file.
